Which term describes a chemical formed when an alcohol and an organic acid combine?

• A. Ester
• B. Substituted Hydrocarbon
• C. Polymer
• D. Amino Acid

Answer: (A)

When an alcohol reacts with an organic acid, the product is called an ester. This type of reaction, esterification, is a condensation process where the hydroxyl group of the acid and a hydrogen from the alcohol are removed as water, forming a new bond that links the acyl part of the acid to the alkyl part of the alcohol. Esters have distinctive uses in fragrances and flavors, and their general structure is R-CO-O-R'. The other terms don’t describe this product: a substituted hydrocarbon is not specific to this reaction, a polymer is a large repeating-mroups structure, and an amino acid is a different kind of molecule with an amino group and a carboxyl group.